Penang To Host Pilot E-Waste Project.

09/11/2011 00:44

GEORGE TOWN (Oct 18, 2011): Electrical and electronic waste experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are currently working out a suitable E-waste collection system for the public in Penang.

Among the methods being considered by the experts, commissioned by the Department of Environment (DOE), is the drop-off-point system, where people can discard their electrical or electronic products at a designated spot.

Other options being looked into include designating a building to house the collection, sticking to the current municipal waste collection or a hybrid of all three.

Penang E-waste Project team leader Hideki Wada told theSun that the pilot project, expected to be implemented in Penang in June 2012, would establish a systematic and financially sustainable E-waste collection system suitable for Penangites.

“We want this (E-waste collection system) to be sustainable even after we have left,” he said.

The DOE will be the implementing agency with the cooperation of the Penang Island Municipal Council.

The E-waste collection system implemented in Penang is expected to be expanded throughout the country if successful.

The DOE website currently already lists six E-waste collection centres on the island and 29 on the mainland.

The public can drop off their unwanted mobile phones, computers and televisions at these centres for recovery of precious but toxic materials inside the devices.

Hideki said the team along with DOE and MPPP officials would also be examining the legal and regulatory aspect of E-waste collection for the country.

“We will also be looking at (formulating) new regulations or legislation so that the collection system can be carried out properly,” he said.